Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

According to Zacks, “Encore Wire Corporation is a low-cost manufacturer of copper electrical building wire and cable. The Company is a significant supplier of both residential wire for interior electrical wiring in homes, apartments and manufactured housing, as well as building wire for electrical distribution in commercial and industrial buildings. “

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A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WIRE. BidaskClub cut Encore Wire Corporation from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. TheStreet cut Encore Wire Corporation from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th.

Shares of Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ WIRE) opened at 40.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $837.54 million, a P/E ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 2.24. Encore Wire Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.70 and a 1-year high of $49.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.39 and its 200 day moving average is $43.36.

Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The electronics maker reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. Encore Wire Corporation had a return on equity of 7.42% and a net margin of 4.01%. The company had revenue of $291.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $282.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Encore Wire Corporation will post $2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. Encore Wire Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.98%.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its position in Encore Wire Corporation by 17.8% in the first quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 19,540 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 2,949 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Encore Wire Corporation by 24.6% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,008,646 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $46,398,000 after buying an additional 199,009 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its position in Encore Wire Corporation by 369.4% in the first quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 33,802 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,555,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares during the last quarter. Karp Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Encore Wire Corporation during the first quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Encore Wire Corporation by 2.9% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,492,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 89.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Encore Wire Corporation Company Profile

Encore Wire Corporation is a manufacturer of electrical building wire and cable. The Company is a supplier of building wire for interior electrical wiring in commercial and industrial buildings, homes, apartments, and manufactured housing. The Company manufactures electric building wire, principally NM-B cable, for use primarily as interior wiring in homes, apartments and manufactured housing, and THHN/THWN-2 cable and metal-clad and armored cable for use primarily as wiring in commercial and industrial buildings.